


No One Else (It's You)

by bbdklvr



Category: GOT7
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, False Accusations, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Jackson Wang Being An Asshole, Jackson Wang Being An Idiot, Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam-centric, M/M, Minor Choi Youngjae/Im Jaebum | JB, Misunderstandings, Sad Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam, Soft Kim Yugyeom, Soft Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam, he stands up for bambam, mark is the best character, they play soccer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26135239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbdklvr/pseuds/bbdklvr
Summary: Bambam broke up Yugyeom for cheating on him, but what if there's more to the story?
Relationships: Choi Youngjae/Im Jaebum | JB, Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam/Kim Yugyeom, Park Jinyoung/Jackson Wang
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	No One Else (It's You)

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this is my first time writing yugbam so hopefully you guys enjoy it! please keep in mind that this if just a fanfiction and i know that the members don't actually act like this in real life!

Bambam groaned as he turned to Youngjae. The hot sun was beaming down on them and their faces were glistening with sweat, but that was the joy of summer. The grass was green, the sky was a bright blue, and most importantly Yugyeom looked so good in those shorts. 

Wait, what? 

He squeezed his eyes shut and brought his fingers up to pinch his nose. Bambam didn't need to be daydreaming about his ex boyfriend, his cheating ex boyfriend. 

Youngjae turned to him once he finished talking to Jaebeom, eyeing Bambam up and down oddly. 

"You okay?" 

Bambam sighed, Youngjae should've known that he most definitely was not okay. Yugyeom hadn't noticed him yet, so hopefully he could quickly make a run for it before he did. 

"You didn't tell me that they'd be here," Bambam said, nudging his head towards Yugyeom, who was kicking a soccer ball back and forth with Jackson and Jinyoung. 

Bambam, Youngjae, Mark, and Jaebeom had all decided that they were going to meet up and play soccer together, but no one told Bambam that Yugyeom was going to be invited. No one told him that Jackson and Jinyoung would be there too, so he assumed that this was another one of their attempts to fix things. 

He wished it didn't have to be this way and that he and Yugyeom could still be friends, because Bambam missed him, but that would never happen, not after their messy break up. 

Youngjae rolled his eyes, "Don't be ridiculous, did you expect us to invite you and not him, you guys share the same friends." He said, shaking his head at Bambam's childish behavior, and to be honest Bambam knew that Youngjae was right. 

But, "I haven't talked to Jackson and Jinyoung since it all happened, so I didn't expect you to invite them either."

Youngjae shrugged, the only people that were keeping Yugyeom, Jackson, and Jinyoung in Bambam's life were Jaebeom and Youngjae, but this was the first time they were successfully able to get all seven of them in the same place at the same time. 

He didn't think it'd go well though. 

Yugyeom cheated on him. He slept with someone else while they were dating. Bambam could never forgive him for what he did, he remembered the way he felt when he'd found out. He had curled up on their shared bed and cried all night with Yugyeom's pillow pulled close to his face, and Yugyeom never came home. That's when he knew that they were done, so the next morning he left without a trace and they haven't spoken to each other ever since. 

"You don't even have to talk to him, Bam. You guys won't be on the same team, plus, it's been six months since your break up," Youngjae said, smiling whilst patting Bambam on the back. 

Bambam sighed but nodded anyways, he trusted that Youngjae wouldn't purposely put them on the same team. It would honestly be a disaster if they had to talk, because Bambam wasn't sure if he could keep from slapping Yugyeom across the face.

He wanted things to go back to when they were simple, to when he could express his love for Yugyeom so openly. Of course, after six months, Bambam still loved Yugyeom, he didn't know if he ever wouldn't. 

He was upset with him though. Why would Yugyeom ruin what they had? Why was Bambam not enough? He wanted answers, but he was too afraid of them, he didn't want to know the truth. He didn't want to hear Yugyeom say that he wasn't good enough. 

"You don't have to play if you don't want to," Youngjae kindly said, squeezing Bambam on the shoulder. Bambam knew that he didn't have to play if he really wanted to avoid Yugyeom that badly, but he didn't want to hold the rest of his friends back from having a good time. 

"I'm going to play. It's best to ignore them, right?" Youngjae nodded to Bambam's words before patting him on the back again, Bambam assumed that Youngjae’s gestures were supposed to be comforting, and they were. 

Youngjae turned back to Jaebeom and continued to talk with him about nonsense that didn't really intrigue Bambam, so he tuned out most of the conversation. They were waiting for Mark to get to the fields, he was usually the friend who was late. 

All seven of them grew up together, but Bambam and Jackson had been friends since birth, the rest of them coming into the picture later. Bambam remembered how much he always admired Yugyeom, even if he was younger. He was always so good at soccer and oftentimes helped Bambam get better. During high school the two were best friends, and then when they finally got to college Yugyeom confessed his love for Bambam, and the feelings were definitely mutual. 

Bambam hated having to dance around the fact that he loved Yugyeom, so when they finally began dating it was as if five thousand bricks had been lifted from his shoulders. It was almost like a twisted joke though, because the weight continued to get heavier every time he realized that he wasn't enough. 

He always tried his best to be everything Yugyeom could ever want in a partner, but he had to accept the fact that he wasn't. Bambam didn't want to cry about Yugyeom again, and especially not in front of him and his friends, but his eyes began to sting anyways. He quickly pushed his feelings away and casted his head towards the ground. 

Mark finally showed up a couple minutes later with a big smile on his face. He greeted Youngjae and Jaebeom first before walking over to Bambam, putting his bag down on the soft grass he pulled him in for a hug. 

"How's my favorite dongsaeng?" Mark happily asked, he had always liked Bambam a lot ever since they were young, he wasn't sure why, but Bambam was grateful. 

"I've been better," Bambam said.

Mark instantly let go of him before looking into his eyes, he was always good at reading Bambam. 

"I'm gonna kill that devil of a maknae." And ever since he found out about what Yugyeom did, he didn't speak a word to him, no matter how much Yugyeom begged for Mark to listen to him. 

It was different with Jinyoung and Jackson though, Bambam hadn't talked to them since the break up with Yugyeom. It bothered him, they were all supposed to be friends, but he knew that they liked Yugyeom a lot more than they liked him, especially now. Thankfully Youngjae and Jaebeom had stayed mostly neutral during the whole fight and after Bambam had cleared up some rumors Jackson had spread they began treating both Yugyeom and Bambam equally no matter who did what. 

"No, it's okay," Bambam quickly said, grabbing Mark by the arm and smiling at him. He knew that his friend wasn't convinced, but at least he wasn't going to do anything stupid, like confronting Yugyeom. 

Mark huffed under his breath and shook his head, protectively pulling Bambam closer to him as they walked towards the others, Jaebeom and Youngjae following behind them. 

Bambam could feel the tension grow thicker and thicker with each step they took closer to the field. He hated being the center of attention, and he could feel the three pairs of eyes on him as he stood next to Mark. 

He wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole, he was one hundred percent sure that was the only solution. 

"Hey, Youngjae and Jaebeom! It's been so long since I last saw you, Bambam," Jinyoung said, smiling with a tight lipped smile. He completely ignored Mark, and Bambam could feel the other's man's body tense up. 

Bambam nodded and watched as the two greeted Yugyeom and Jackson, who clearly didn't have anything to say to him, so he wouldn't say anything to them. 

"Don't fucking ignore me, Jinyoung," Mark said defensively. 

"Not here, please guys," Bambam interrupted before Jinyoung even had the chance to reply. He felt so horrible that he and Yugyeom had caused this barrier in their friend group, they were all petty, no matter how long they've known each other for. 

Jinyoung rolled his eyes, walking away from the two and standing next to his boyfriend, Jackson. Bambam was so happy for them when they had finally gotten together, but now he felt like he couldn't even look at them without feeling guilty and like he did something wrong. 

When they were done greeting (if you could even call it that) each other, Youngjae spoke up.

"I'll be the referee and make up the teams!" He excitedly said, grabbing a red, plastic whistle that shined whenever the sun hit it, out of his pocket. 

"How about we put Bambam, Yugyeom, and Mark on a team," Jackson said, a smug smirk on his face. Bambam rolled his eyes and quickly glanced over at Yugyeom, who seemed unbothered. 

"How about I shove my foot up your ass," Mark angrily said, seemingly tired of Jinyoung and Jackson's behavior targeted mostly towards him. He stalked closer to Jackson, but Jaebeom pulled him back to his arm and whispered something in his ear, probably telling him to calm down.

Bambam hated this. He wanted everyone to be friends again, even if he and Yugyeom weren't. He just wished that everyone else would get along and stop feeling the need to protect the two from each other. 

"Can we just play the game and stop arguing?" Bambam's ears perked up, he missed Yugyeom's voice. It's been six long months since he's heard that soft and sweet voice.

Mark's eyes slowly made their way over to Bambam before he sighed, pulling himself out of Jaebeom's grasp and moving closer to him. The other guys nodded to Yugyeom's words before they finally shut their mouths and began listening to the rules that Youngjae was listing off. 

"You better not be fucking simping over Yugyeom," Mark whispered, roughly nudging Bambam with his shoulder. 

"I'm not," He whispered back, rubbing his arm where Mark hit it. He totally was, but Mark didn't need to know that. 

Youngjae put the whistle around his neck and picked up the soccer ball, tucking it between his arm and his side. They usually brought bandanas with them so that they knew who was on what team. Youngjae grabbed all of them and held them up. 

"Team captains Jaebeom and Jinyoung, play rock paper scissors to see who gets first pick," Youngjae said, handing Jaebeom the blue one and Jinyoung the red one. "Whoever gets the first pick only gets to choose one and the other person will choose two."

"How is that fair?" Yugyeom spoke up, furrowing his eyebrows. Bambam rolled his eyes, he always asked stupid questions. 

"If the second person gets to choose two people instead of one, it prevents the first team from being overpowered. It's giving fair options to both teams because the first pick is always the best player, which gives the other team a chance to choose two players to make up for the best player," Bambam explained, crossing his arms over his chest. He saw Jackson and Jinyoung whisper something to each other before they began giggling. 

They were so fucking petty, it was unbelievable. 

"We've never played like that before, it's basically cheating," Yugyeom argued, turning towards Bambam. 

"Yeah, you'd know about cheating, wouldn't you?" He retorted, feeling his anger rise as things progressively got more intense. Bambam knew exactly how to push Yugyeom's buttons, and he was going to use that to his advantage. 

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Yugyeom aggressively asked, shoving past Jackson and attempting to get in Bambam's face, but Mark pushed him back before he got the chance.

"Stop!" Youngjae yelled, getting in between the two groups, "We're here to have fun today and so far all of you have managed to get on my nerves except for Jaebeom, so would you just quit it? I'll choose the goddamn teams," He continued, looking extremely frustrated. Bambam meekly nodded as he felt the guilt seep into his body. He didn't want to ruin this for everyone, but that's exactly what he was doing. 

"It's not your fault Bambam, they're being assholes," Mark said, pulling the boy closer to him by his waist. Mark was always really good at reading him, he nodded as he leaned his head against Mark's shoulder. 

"Okay, Jaebeom, Mark, and Bambam on the blue team and Jinyoung, Jackson, and Yugyeom on the red. Don't fucking argue with the teams I chose, because anything else would end up with you guys ripping each other's throats out," Youngjae said, blowing his whistle. They all moved on to their side of the field, getting in a team huddle and deciding on a play to do. 

The game was going fairly smooth, no one was playing dirty and it was actually kind of fun. The blue team was winning, which made Mark and Bambam feel extremely smug. It gave them the need to brag to the red team, because they could put aside all of their feelings and just play the game, whereas Jackson was clearly trying to mess with Bambam. 

Towards the middle of the game, things started to get more intense. Bambam shook it off as an accident at first, but there was no way Jackson wasn't purposely making sure he hit Bambam in some type of way, whether it be shoving or accidentally kicking him, it wasn't coincidental. 

It was the last straw when Jackson managed to kick the ball into Bambam's stomach, successfully sending him to the ground. He felt his blood boil as he stared up at Jackson, standing up and ignoring Mark's offering of help. 

He shoved Jackson before he looked him in the eyes, getting in his face, "What's your fucking problem?!"

"My problem? I don't have a problem, you're just always in my way, Bambam," Jackson responded. Bambam hated seeing him be so mean. When they were younger, Jackson and Bambam were always playful towards each other, even if he did favor Yugyeom over him, they still had a good relationship. 

The other boys stopped and all looked towards their direction, Mark looked like he was getting ready to argue with Jackson, but Bambam put his hand up, signaling to Mark that he would deal with this on his own. 

"Is this about me and Yugyeom's break up? You and Jinyoung have been ignoring me ever since, clearly we know who your favorite is!" Bambam yelled out, letting everything he bottled up finally meet the light. "He cheated on me, you should have nothing against me." 

"That's the fucking thing, he didn't cheat on you and if you'd give him the chance to tell you, you wouldn't have ruined your relationship with him and all of us. You broke our friend group, you're selfish, always have been and always will be—" 

"Jackson that's enough," Yugyeom said, moving closer to the two. Bambam felt as the tears began to blur his vision, he didn't want to cry in front of Jackson, he didn't want to give him that satisfaction. 

"Shut the hell up and let me fucking talk," Jackson said, laying his eyes back upon Bambam and getting as close as he could to him. 

"You're nothing but an insecure snake and everyone knows it. You're using Mark to protect you because you're too much of a pussy to act like a man and talk to Yugyeom like an adult," Jackson finally said, giving Bambam one final push that sent him straight into the dirt.

Bambam finally broke as he began crying, standing up from the grass and running towards the bathrooms. He heard some commotion from behind him, but he wasn't going to turn around and look. Bambam just wanted to go home and be alone.

He heard the bathroom door open, expecting it to be Mark. He said, "I can't do it anymore and I'm sorry I ruined everything." 

The person however, wasn't Mark and when he spoke up Bambam wanted the ground to split apart and drag him to the core of the earth. 

"Not Mark, but I still wanna talk," Yugyeom softly said, looking at Bambam who had bloodshot eyes and dried up tears on his cheeks. His tone was much different than what it had been like when he was arguing with Bambam on the field. 

"If you're here to tell me how stupid I am, I'd rather you do it via text or something," Bambam said, grabbing his things and getting ready to push past Yugyeom and out the door.

"I don't think you're stupid, you know that, right? I don't think any of this is your fault either," Yugyeom explained, reaching to touch Bambam on his arm. The man pulled away before he turned around, not wanting to show Yugyeom what he was feeling. 

"Please, I just wanna talk about what happened, and I'm so sorry for Jackson. I swear I didn't know he was going to act like that." 

Bambam didn't want to give Yugyeom the chance to explain himself, because he knew that if he did, he'd forgive him easily and probably get back together with him. He was still in love with Yugyeom of course, but he wasn't going to put himself through that again. His mind knew that it was best for him to just leave without speaking to him, but his heart wanted closure, and his heart overpowered his mind. 

"Make it quick," Bambam whispered, following Yugyeom who nodded and led him out of the bathroom and over to a picnic table that was a good distance away from everyone else. 

They sat across from each other, Bambam immediately looked down at the table, not wanting to fall into those deep, brown eyes. 

"I never cheated on you," He started, making Bambam's head snap up and allowing their gazes to meet. 

"Don't lie to me, Yugyeom," Bambam said, clenching his fist tightly on the table. He wasn’t going to make a fool out of himself by sitting there and listening to Yugyeom spew out whatever bullshit he had come up with. 

"Listen, just please listen. Let me speak and don't interrupt me so I can tell you everything. You owe me after leaving so abruptly like you did," He continued, his voice was still soft and had no hint of anger or aggressiveness. 

"I don't owe you anything." 

Yugyeom looked Bambam in the eyes, he was displaying his emotions so openly which is something he never used to do. It made Bambam realize that maybe he did owe him, so he sighed before nodding. 

"The night before you left, I wasn't out fucking somebody else, and I really don't want to admit this but I was with a girl. Her name was Rose and she was helping me with something related to you. As you know, our three year anniversary was coming up and I was planning on taking you Jeju Island and buying you a promise ring," He quietly said, looking up at Bambam for any reactions or emotions that he was willing to display. 

Bambam was shocked that Yugyeom wanted to buy him a promise ring, it was something he'd always wanted, but how does that prove that he wasn't cheating? 

"Rose was my friend at the time and I will admit, she got a little touchy sometimes, even when I told her I already had someone at home. Anyways, she was helping me pick a ring for you and afterwards she invited me over to her house. I said no, but she kept persisting over and over again, so I caved in and stayed there. Long story short we got blasted off of weed and I fell asleep, but nothing ever happened between us, Bambam, I swear to you. I'm not the type to cheat and I thought you knew that," Yugyeom explained, grabbing on to Bambam's clenched fists and looking into his eyes. 

After a minute passed of them looking at each other, Bambam looked away, shaking his head and trying to stop the tears from flowing out. 

Yugyeom gently let go of him before he suddenly got upset, his eyebrows became furrowed and his eyes went from the innocent and hopeful emotion to suddenly closed off and cold. 

"You don't believe me, do you?" He stated, trying to meet Bambam's gaze again. Yugyeom scoffed before he looked away, "This was the problem in our relationship, you never trusted me." 

"It's because you're you and I'm me," Bambam croaked out, rubbing at his eyes and pulling his hands to his lap. He always had low self esteem, everyone in their friend group knew it, so what Jackson said really hurt and made him realize that he never trusted Yugyeom because of his own issues. 

He did ruin everything. 

"I've told you so many times, Bambam. I love you and you're enough for me. You let your demons ruin our relationship and I'm so mad at you for that. I want you back, but it'd never work if you still can't trust me. I would never cheat on you," Yugyeom said, his voice almost pleading. Bambam didn't know that Yugyeom still felt like this, he thought that there was no chance of them getting back together. 

"I'm so sorry," Bambam said, feeling the tears coming back again. 

Yugyeom sighed before he looked him in the eyes, "Don't you dare fucking cry right now." 

"I'm just so insecure," Bambam let out, crying into his hands, not able to bear seeing Yugyeom look at him with pity in his eyes, "You could do so much better, Gyeom." And he didn't mean to let the old nickname slip out, but it did and Bambam didn't even notice it. 

It felt right.

"I don't want anyone else, why can't you just understand that you were my everything?" Yugyeom asked, suddenly getting angry.

"And I will admit that Jackson was right about one thing. You were being selfish, you didn't give me the opportunity to explain myself and you didn't trust me to begin with. I kept calling and texting you, I even came to your dorm and you pretended like you weren't home," Yugyeom said clenching his fists by his side and looking at Bambam with complete hurt and betrayal in his eyes. 

"I loved you, I still do, but this can't work if you can't learn to trust me and love yourself at the same time." 

Bambam knew that Yugyeom was right, he was happy that he was mature enough to come and speak to him instead of ignoring the situation like Bambam did. 

"I'm so sorry." It felt repetitive, but it was all Bambam could say, he didn't know what else to do. 

"Stop apologizing, I'm getting tired of it." Bambam nodded and hesitantly looked down, he felt like he was on fire under Yugyeom's gaze. He heard a sigh before he felt a hand grab his from across the table. 

"Whenever you're ready, I'm here. I want this to work because I love you and despite everything, I know you love me too," Yugyeom said, standing and pulling Bambam up with him. He coaxed Bambam in for a hug and it felt so good to finally be in Yugyeom's arms again. 

"I'll talk to Jackson and Jinyoung, I'm so sorry that they acted the way they did for six whole months. I should've never allowed them to act like that to you," He said in Bambam's ear, pulling away and offering him an apologetic smile. 

"And I'm sorry for assuming and allowing Mark to treat you the way he did." 

"He wasn't anywhere near as bad as Jinyoung and Jackson." 

Bambam smiled and looked Yugyeom in the eyes again, and for a second it felt like they were in the past, happy and in love. Of course they were still in love now, but Bambam had to work on himself first and maybe Yugyeom had some things to work on too, but in the end he hoped that they'd come together again. 

"Seriously, it's okay, Gyeom. Don't worry about it," Bambam said. The nickname rolled right off of his tongue. Yugyeom seemed to like it, since his smile got just a little bit wider. They both smiled at each other before they began to walk back towards where the others were. 

"Do you know what happened when I left?" He asked, looking at Yugyeom through the corner of his eyes.

"No, I followed you right after you ran away," Yugyeom mumbled, turning a shade of bright red. He was clearly embarrassed and Bambam quietly chuckled at the cuteness, this was better than whatever they had going on before. 

As they got closer to the group they saw Mark sitting in the grass with a cut on his lip and Jackson on a bench with a wet towel to his face. Bambam's eyes widened in horror before he ran over to Mark, inspecting his face for any other bruises or cuts. 

"What the hell happened?!" Bambam asked, looking up from Mark and glancing at Jackson, who was getting comforted by Jinyoung. Yugyeom walked over to the two before sitting next to Jackson and also inspecting his face, in a similar way Bambam had done to Mark. 

Jaebeom and Youngjae also were sitting in the grass, focusing on something on one of their phones. 

"I punched him for saying that bullshit about you," Mark responded, basically glaring at Jackson. 

"You didn't need to do that." 

Mark's head snapped up and he looked at Bambam intensely, grabbing the boy and forcing him down to the grass. Bambam sat next to him and furrowed his eyebrows.

"I did. I wasn't going to let him get away with lying, not again. He knows that you're insecure and he was using that against you, he was purposely trying to hurt you, Bam," Mark gently said, pulling Bambam into a hug. 

"You know none of that is true, right?" Bambam nodded against his chest, smiling at the comfort that Mark always provided him with. 

The group sat silently, all seemingly thinking over their previous actions and words. Bambam wanted things to be okay with Jinyoung and Jackson, especially because he solved things with Yugyeom, but he didn't know how to approach them. He was scared. Jackson had been so brutal to him and he didn't want to be hurt like that again, but he knew that he needed to resolve things with them sooner or later. 

Bambam was tired though, and he was sure everything would solve itself, so he grabbed his bag and stood up. 

"I'm gonna go, hopefully I'll see you all later," He said, giving Mark one last hug and saying goodbye to Youngjae and Jaebeom too. Yugyeom smiled and waved to him, Jinyoung did too, but Jackson didn't even acknowledge him. He was surprised that Jinyoung had waved to him, but it made him happy. 

Maybe things would go back to normal sooner rather than later. 

Bambam began walking away from them, feeling better now that he had talked to Yugyeom. The sun also was setting and the sky was beautiful, which added on to his good mood. 

He was still really upset about what Jackson said, but he didn't want to let it ruin his evening. He was going to go home, eat dinner and then he could take a shower and go to sleep. 

As he opened his trunk and put his bag in it, he heard footsteps gradually get louder against the pavement and closer to him. Bambam looked up and saw that Jinyoung was running towards him. He sighed and slammed the trunk shut. Bambam was going to get into the driver's seat when he heard Jinyoung's voice. 

"Wait! Bambam! Please just wait!" He said, leaning his body against the back of Bambam's car and taking in all the oxygen he could get. For someone who played soccer in his spare time, he was really winded. 

Bambam closed the door and looked at Jinyoung, who was still bent over and breathless. Once he finally caught his breath he stood up straight, a shameful expression on his face. Without saying anything, he pulled Bambam into a tight hug. He wasn't sure what was happening, because it had been six long months since he's been in physical contact with Jinyoung, and everything just felt so odd, but it was still comforting. He always was comfortable around Jinyoung before everything happened. 

He felt his shirt get a bit damp and before he realized it, Jinyoung was crying. 

"I'm so sorry, Bambam. I should've never treated you and Mark the way I did. I don't have an excuse for how I acted, you and Yugyeom both are my babies, so I shouldn't have chosen one over the other," He said, pulling away from the hug. He brought his hands up to his face and wiped away his tears. Bambam stood there completely stunned, he wasn't expecting to talk to Yugyeom or Jinyoung today and make up with them. 

"You guys just completely abandoned me," Bambam quietly said, looking down at the pavement. "Jackson was my best friend after Mark, I didn't ever expect him to do anything like that. You guys didn't even give me a chance to talk to you and explain my side, and maybe if you did, me and Yugyeom would still be together by now," He said. 

"You can't blame the failure of your relationship on us. If you really wanted to talk to Yugyeom and get back together, you would've, but I don't want to fight with you anymore. Jackson and I were petty when we shouldn't have been, we're older than you guys and we should always protect you both," Jinyoung explained. 

Bambam just nodded and the two stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. 

"Jackson and I are going out to eat in a bit, do you wanna come with? Maybe you and Jackson could solve everything," Jinyoung quietly asked. He began cracking knuckles and Bambam knew that he always did that when he was nervous about something, so he looked up and saw that Jinyoung wasn't even looking at him, he looked hesitant. 

Bambam knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to go with them, it'd only be awkward for Jinyoung because Jackson would most definitely pick a fight with Bambam. 

"I'm tired, so I think I'll just head home," Bambam said, watching as Jinyoung sighed and nodded. 

"Oh, okay. Did you and Yugyeom solve anything?" 

"You know, I don't really want to talk about this with you right now. Bye, Jinyoung," He let out, unintentionally sounding rude. He didn't wait for a response as he got in his car and slammed the door shut behind him. He watched through the mirror as Jinyoung slowly walked away, looking extremely defeated. 

———

The next couple of weeks went by without a trace from Yugyeom, Jinyoung, or Jackson. He knew that the two were giving him time to think, but Jackson hadn't even said anything to him. There was no apology and Bambam assumed that Jackson just had no shame or remorse for what he said. 

Bambam was still hurt over the words, but he felt the wound healing up as days passed by. The days were getting hotter and longer, he would often go swimming with Mark and sometimes Youngjae or Jaebeom would join them. 

His summer was going great though, putting the past events aside. He remembered last summer when the seven of them would go to the fields and play soccer almost every day, he missed doing that with them, but last time it had been such a disaster. 

Bambam didn't want to spend his summer dwelling on the past though, he wanted their friend group to all be friends again, he wanted to resolve everything. He was currently sitting in Mark's apartment, the two of them were playing on his gaming console. 

Mark beat him again and he felt tired of just staying inside, staring at a screen and doing nothing. 

"Mark?"

He hummed as he continued to play the video game, concentrated on the tv in front him. 

"What if we invited everyone to play soccer again?" He asked. 

Mark's gaze fell upon Bambam as he furrowed his eyebrows. The screen flashed bright red when he lost, "Last time we hung out with all of them you and Jackson almost got physical," He said, throwing the controller on the couch and leaning back. 

"You're the one who got physical though," Bambam innocently pointed out, bringing his legs up on the couch and hugging them close to his chest, "I feel like maybe I could talk to Jackson then." 

Mark scoffed, "You won't be talking to him, Bam. The only way for Jackson to fix what he did is for him to approach you, don't go to him first, you'll look desperate," He explained. 

They sat in silence for a minute as Bambam thought over it. He knew that he really had nothing to apologize for and that Jackson was in the wrong. He had already fixed most of everything with Yugyeom, which meant there was really no reason that Jackson should be mad at him. Bambam honestly didn't get what he did wrong to Jackson and Jinyoung, and while Mark was ignoring Yugyeom, he was under the impression that Yugyeom had cheated. 

Mark also never went out of his way to make Yugyeom feel bad. 

"You know, all you have to do is call him," Mark suddenly said, standing up and collecting the dishes they used and along with the empty pizza box, "Even if you wanted him to meet you here right now, I wouldn't mind." 

"What? Who?" Bambam asked, digging his nails into his other arm. 

"Yugyeom. You don't have to invite all of the others to hang out with him, you guys solved things, right?"

Sometimes Bambam hated how well Mark knew him and how accurate his assumptions always were. 

"How did you-" 

"It's common sense," Mark laughed, shaking his head as he moved over to the kitchen. Bambam furrowed his eyebrows and stood up, following behind him. "You still love each other and I guess now you're friends, so just invite him over." 

Bambam rolled his eyes and watched as Mark set the dishes in the sink.

"I'm not going to invite him, especially if you two aren't on good terms," He said, leaning against the counter. 

"Who said we weren't on good terms? After Jinyoung followed after you in the parking lot, I pulled him aside and apologized. We're cool again, and if you won't invite him, I will," Mark explained, a smirk on his face. Before Bambam even had the chance to think, Mark was already pulling out his phone and bringing it up to his ear. 

He groaned as he fell back on the couch, watching as his best friend practically ruined his life (that was going a little far, but Bambam liked to be dramatic). 

After a short conversation, Mark grinned as he hung up the call and looked at Bambam, "When I told him you were here, he only seemed to get more excited." 

Bambam didn't say anything as he got up and headed towards the bathroom, he heard Mark's laugh echo throughout the room and he rolled his eyes. He looked up to the mirror and made sure he looked good. Bambam didn't know that he'd be seeing Yugyeom, and if he did he wouldn't have worn joggers and a T-shirt. 

The truth was, he was nervous that he wouldn't look good enough for Yugyeom. He wanted them to get back together, but why would Yugyeom want somebody who accused him of cheating when he didn't and isn't as good looking as everyone else. 

During their relationship Yugyeom had helped him become more confident in his looks and his body, but as soon as they broke up everything came crashing down. He wanted Yugyeom to make it better, but he knew that he had to do it on his own. 

Bambam had worked on it after they broke up though. Mark helped him build his confidence back up too, so in result he wasn't as self loathing as he had been before. He felt like he could trust Yugyeom and finally allow things to get back on track.

He jolted up once he heard the doorbell ring, quickly fixing his hair and smiling at himself in the mirror. Bambam walked out of the bathroom and felt nervousness seep through his body. Yugyeom looked amazing, he was wearing a white baseball cap that covered half of his face, a baggy black T-shirt that he had tucked into white shorts. The thing that really made Bambam blush was the fact that it was his shirt that Yugyeom was wearing. 

What was he playing at?

Yugyeom took off his white shoes, placing them by the door as he handed Mark a box of donuts he seemed to have picked up. 

"Let me go put these in the kitchen," Mark said, winking once he turned around to face Bambam. He shook his head and walked closer to the couch, sitting on it and signaling Yugyeom to do the same. 

"Hey, it's been a long time since we last talked, how are you?" Yugyeom said first, sitting next to Bambam on the couch. There were three other couches that he could've sat on, but he chose the one Bambam was on and chose to move close to him, so close that their thighs were touching. 

Bambam tensed up once he felt Yugyeom place his hand on his knee. 

"I'm okay, how have you been?" He asked, clenching his jaw when Yugyeom's hand moved further up his thigh. He balled his hands up into fists at his side and dug his nails into his palms. 

"Relax, why are you so tense?" Bambam laughed at Yugyeom's question, shaking his head and looking towards him. 

"Why are you doing this?" He asked, moving away from Yugyeom and to the other side of the couch. He was too focused on getting away from him to notice the wave of confusion that washed over on Yugyeom's face. 

"I thought that everything was okay between us now, is it not?" Bambam rolled his eyes, when would Yugyeom stop asking such dumb questions? 

"Things are okay, but you're not allowed to just come in here and act like that," Bambam said, furrowing his eyebrows and pushing Yugyeom's hands away when he tried to reach for him again. 

"Like what-" 

"Like we're together!" He all but yelled, standing up from the couch and running his hands through his hair, "Like you love me and everything is back to normal! Like the last six months didn't happen, you can't do that, Yugyeom." 

Yugyeom shook his head as he stood up, walking towards Bambam and grabbing on to his waist. He pulled him closer and looked Bambam in the eyes, "Don't you want things to go back to normal, even if it's for one night? I miss you," He said, getting closer and placing a kiss on Bambam's cheek. 

Bambam felt his heart flutter as Yugyeom's lips softly left his cheek. Yugyeom always had a way with words and actions and he always had Bambam wrapped around his finger. 

Of course he wanted things to go back to how they were with Yugyeom, but he didn't want to be easy. He didn't want to rush into things either because if he did he knew things wouldn't end well. He wanted their relationship to work, more than anything, so the reasonable thing to do would be to slowly ease back into their relationship. 

"Yugyeom-" 

"One night," He quietly said, interrupting Bambam's sentence. Yugyeom got closer until their lips met, and after six excruciating months, it felt so good to be kissing him again. Bambam felt bliss as their lips slowly moved against each other, quietly gasping when Yugyeom's hand moved down to his ass. 

They moved in perfect harmony, only stopping to take quick breaths in between. Yugyeom pushed Bambam back until he landed on the couch, getting on top of him and deepening the kiss. Bambam's hands found themselves wrapped in Yugyeom's hair, gently pulling on the strands. 

"So perfect, just how I remember," Yugyeom breathed out, smirking when Bambam's cheeks turned a dark shade of red. His smirk quickly went away though as he reached down and connected their lips again. 

Bambam felt Yugyeom's tongue prod at his lips and he opened them immediately, moaning at the feeling. He hadn't kissed anybody ever since their relationship and it was so relieving, it felt right. He didn't want to kiss anybody else like this. 

Yugyeom pulled away from the kiss and pulled Bambam's shirt over his head, kissing down his chest. 

"Hey! Hey! No fucking on my couch!" Mark said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stood in the entryway to the living room. 

The two jolted away from each other, Yugyeom falling off of the couch from Bambam's sudden movement. The latter laughed as he heard Yugyeom curse to himself. 

"Bambam put on a shirt and Yugyeom..." He started, looking at the boy on the floor, "Get off of my floor. I'm going to go to sleep and you two are going to leave and go have sex somewhere else. Thanks for the donuts, I guess," Mark finished, shaking his head and going to his room, slamming the door shut behind him. 

The room stayed silent for a minute as the two processed what just happened, they both looked at each other before laughing. Bambam loved the feeling of the light hearted laughter, he sat up as he helped Yugyeom off of the floor. He put his shirt on, but they both continued to quietly laugh at the situation. 

"Do you want to go back to my apartment?" Yugyeom asked, holding his hand out for Bambam to take. 

Bambam didn't reply though, nervousness instantly flooded his body as he looked towards the ground. 

Yugyeom sighed and gently grabbed Bambam's hand, "It's just me, Bam. You know I won't do anything to hurt you, right? Never again," He said, bringing Bambam's hand up to his lips and kissing his knuckles. 

"I know. Let's go," Bambam said, biting his lip and swinging his and Yugyeom's hands together. 

"Stop being fucking cheesy and get out of my house, lock the door behind you, Bambam," Mark called from the other room. 

They laughed again and Bambam led them out, closing the door behind him per Mark's request. 

The two walked the streets of Seoul together, their faces illuminated by the bright city lights. Bambam looked over at Yugyeom through the corner of his eye, he looked absolutely beautiful. The lights were blinding, but contrasted beautifully against his skin. The weather had gotten a little bit cooler than it was earlier, but it was still hot, Yugyeom's shirt began to stick to his skin from the sweat and Bambam realized that he'd been working out. 

His chest looked a lot more fit and his arms looked a little bigger, he felt arousal begin to settle deep within him. Had he always had a muscle kink, or was it just Yugyeom's insane good looks? 

Bambam knew that the apartment was getting closer, considering that he used to live there too. He still had his key, never remembered to give it back to Yugyeom (more like he didn't have the guts to), but the nervousness started to barge back into his mind. 

He didn't want to have sex with Yugyeom and then never see him again, and he knew that was unrealistic, but he didn't know what Yugyeom's intentions were. After all it's been six months, and six months can change a person as well as their morals and values. 

Bambam needed to learn to trust Yugyeom and this would have to be the first step to doing that. 

They finally arrived at the apartment complex, Yugyeom fiddled with the keys a bit before finally finding the right one and inserting it into the keyhole. They stumbled up the stairs, still hand in hand. It had been a quiet and peaceful walk over, but as soon as they stepped into their once shared apartment, things began to feel heated again.

Once the door shut Yugyeom immediately pushed Bambam against it, connecting their lips again. 

That night Bambam let Yugyeom do whatever he pleased, their once shared bedroom being filled with the sounds of moans and breathes of pleasure. Everything felt so nostalgic to Bambam. Nothing had changed within the apartment either, making it that much better. 

"I love you," Yugyeom breathed out, moving his lips down to Bambam's and kissing them. His hips moved at a gentle pace, drawing out loud moans from the boy beneath him. 

And Bambam let himself fall in for one night. 

"I love you too." He whimpered out, chasing Yugyeom's lips. 

———

The next morning Bambam woke up to the sound of a phone chiming, multiple calls and texts coming in one after the other. He groaned as the sounds continued, he looked over to his side to see Yugyeom still sleeping. 

Bambam wanted to take the time to admire him, but the phone would not stop. He checked his phone and realized that the sound was coming from Yugyeom's. Who was messaging and calling him this early in the morning? 

He didn't want to invade his privacy and he knew he had no right to look through Yugyeom's notifications, but he was tired and wanted to go back to sleep, turning off the ringer was the only way he could think of getting the phone to shut up. 

Bambam reached over Yugyeom and grabbed it, trying his hardest not to look at whoever was texting him, but as he switched the ringer off a new incoming call showed up. 

The caller ID read Rose, with a yellow heart emoji next to it. He felt his blood boil, was Yugyeom still talking to her, after everything that happened? 

He didn't need anymore of an explanation as he threw the phone on Yugyeom's chest and sat up from the bed. Bambam's legs were tangled in the sheets, but after some rustling he finally got up. He grabbed his clothes and began to throw them on, not caring about whether he looked presentable or not. 

Bambam heard Yugyeom groan and mumble to himself before the sound of sheets moving grew louder. He felt a hand on his shoulder before he pushed it off, jerking away from Yugyeom's touch. 

"Bambam?" The boy groaned out, clearly still tired. He stood only in his boxers, but his chest had splashes of red against his pale skin. 

Looking at the marks he had left on Yugyeom was a slap in the face. How could he be so stupid? 

"Is this all just a game to you?! Our relationship, my feelings, it's all just one big game that you're controlling, isn't it?" Bambam accused, tugging on his shirt and running his hands through his hair. 

"A game? What the hell are you talking about? I had a good time last night, I thought you did too," Yugyeom said, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. 

Bambam shook his head, "Last night was a mistake, we shouldn't have jumped into things that quickly." 

"What-" 

"You still talk to Rose! And you want me to trust you, you're a joke, Yugyeom. You lied to me about cheating-"

Yugyeom walked closer to him, his eyes grew darker and he got in Bambam's face, "I didn't cheat on you. I'd never treat you like a one night stand, she's just a friend." 

"She ruined our relationship-" 

He got interrupted as Yugyeom roughly pointed his fingers into Bambam's chest, "You ruined our relationship. You have trust issues, Bambam! You can't blame her for what you did." 

Yugyeom backed away as Bambam stood in shock. Is this how Yugyeom felt about the situation the whole time? He said he didn't blame Bambam, he lied. That was the least of his concerns though. 

They couldn't keep going on like this. 

He pushed past Yugyeom as he grabbed his T-shirt, the one Yugyeom was wearing last night. 

"This is mine," He quietly said, trying to not cry in front of Yugyeom, but it was no use, the tears already began to leak from his eyes. 

"Fucking take it, and get out of my house," Yugyeom all but yelled, it was the most aggressive he'd ever heard him be. 

Bambam slammed the door shut behind him, making his way towards the elevator and pressing on the button as much as he could, as if that would help bring the elevator up quicker. Once he got in, he leaned his head against the wall and began to cry. Why did he keep messing things up again and again with Yugyeom, and why did he keep trusting him again and again? 

One step forward, fifteen steps back. 

———

A month has passed since Bambam had last seen or spoken to Yugyeom. Summer break was coming to a close and he hadn't had much time to think about since he was getting ready to go back to school. 

Well, after spending two weeks calling and texting Yugyeom to apologize, he had finally dropped it and was starting to accept the fact that they weren't going to get back together. 

He tried to drown himself in work and in cleaning up his dorm so he'd be in a better environment for learning, but Yugyeom still ran circles in his mind. Bambam was upset that Yugyeom still talked to Rose, as if she was some kind of rebound, he wasn't even sure if that was the case, but he allowed himself to believe it anyways. 

He spent time with Jaebeom and Youngjae, and of course Mark, Jinyoung had tried reaching out a couple of times, but no word from Jackson or Yugyeom. 

Bambam sighed as he kicked the ball around, hardly kicking it into the goal before he stumbled to a bench, sitting down and putting his head in his hands. He ran them through his hair and pulled at the long strands, they were wet with sweat but he didn't care. 

He loved coming to the fields to just get away from the real world, but lately going to the field had been making things worse. It made him remember how much him and Yugyeom would come together and practice on their kicks or just work out together. 

"Hey, I didn't know you'd be here," He heard a voice say, an oddly familiar voice that was rather smooth and motherly. 

Jinyoung. 

Bambam looked up, squinting his eyes since the sun was shining right into them. He hadn't seen Jinyoung since they were in the parking lot, he'd just tried calling and texting Bambam, which he responded to sometimes, but things were still awkward. He was fidgeting with his hands, almost looking scared. 

"Oh, hi," Bambam said, sitting up and scratching the back of his head. 

"I know what happened with you and Yugyeom last time, and I don't blame you for acting the way you did," Jinyoung quietly said, sitting next to him on the bench. "If Jackson ever did that-" 

"I don't want to talk about Yugyeom or Jackson right now," Bambam interrupted, standing up and walking over to grab his ball, missing the way Jinyoung flinched at the quick movement. He heard the sound of the grass crunching beneath his feet and he turned around, stopping Jinyoung from coming any closer. 

"What do you want, Jinyoung? It's over between us and that's final, I messed shit up and if you want to get information out of me just so you can go and tell Jackson, it's not gonna happen, okay? I'm tired of this and I'm tired of getting bullied by people who are supposed to be my friends," Bambam said, picking up his ball and stalking over to his car. He rolled his eyes when he heard footsteps running on the pavement and getting closer to him. 

"Bambam, please," He pleaded, grabbing on to the younger boy's arm. "Me and Jackson haven't talked for three weeks. I stood up for you and it's costing me my relationship." 

Bambam turned around and looked at Jinyoung in the eyes. Why was he doing this, why was he ruining things with Jackson over something that was essentially none of their business. 

"Why are you doing this?" He asked, grabbing Jinyoung by the shoulder and forcing him to get closer, "Don't ruin your relationship because of me." 

"He won't apologize to you-" 

"It's fine, Jinyoung. He's mad at me for hurting Yugyeom, I get it, but don't drive him over the edge. We can talk if you promise to fix things with Jackson, tonight," He said, biting his lip and allowing his guard to fall. 

"Fix things with Yugyeom and I'll do the same with Jackson," Jinyoung compromised. Bambam did want to fix things with Yugyeom, but he couldn't force someone to love him, and he wouldn't do that to someone he loved. 

"We can't fix things right now, not when he's ignoring me. Just please promise me you'll fix things with Jackson," He pleaded. Bambam didn't want Jinyoung and Jackson to face the same destiny as him and Yugyeom, he didn't want them to break up and he didn't want to be the cause of another failed relationship. 

"Yugyeom will be stubborn, you know that. You guys were meant to be together, whether it be romantically or platonically, you have to fix things," Jinyoung said, placing his hand on Bambam's shoulder and squeezing it, "I'm going to be here for you throughout the whole thing." 

Bambam could tell that he was subtly trying to apologize again, so he nodded and looked down at the pavement, "Did he talk to you?" 

Jinyoung leaned against the car and sighed, "I don't want to open any doors-" 

"I won't tell him you said anything." Bambam was persistent and he would continue to be until Jinyoung gave him what he wanted. Honestly, he wanted to know where Yugyeom's head was, he wouldn't get mad if anything bad was said about him. 

Well he hoped he wouldn't. 

"Bambam-" 

"Please, hyung. I need to know what he's feeling, whether he still wants me or not," Bambam begged, suddenly tugging on Jinyoung's sleeve like he was a child. He knew what the name did to Jinyoung and he knew that using it was an easy way to get what he wanted.

"You brat," Jinyoung playfully said, a smile on his face as he rolled his eyes. Bambam used to always use honorifics as a bargaining chip and by being extra sweet and cute. 

"He's heartbroken. You know he doesn't just have sex with anyone. He thinks you'll never trust him and overall he said that he feels lost, because he wants you and he said he's told you that, but it seems like you don't want him," Jinyoung explained, the mood suddenly getting serious again, "He also mentioned that in his eyes, it seemed like you wanted to find reasons to be mad at him-" 

"That's not true!" Bambam said, standing up for himself. 

"I'm breaking Yugyeom's trust by telling you this, don't you go and do anything stupid," Jinyoung reminded him, nudging his head towards the car. Bambam unlocked it and they both got in, he turned it on and blasted the air conditioning, it felt much better than to be standing in the hot weather, the last remains of summer. 

"I won't and if you can find a way to get us both in the same room, I'll talk to him," Bambam said, putting the car in reverse and getting ready to pull out of the parking lot. 

"Did you drive here?" 

Jinyoung shook us head, "Jackson and I got in another fight, so I was walking around campus just to be alone and then I saw you." 

Bambam sighed, sometimes he hated the side of him who begged for forgiveness and peace, "What if I take you home and I talk to Jackson," He said, gripping onto the steering wheel tighter. He wanted things to be better, but he shouldn't have to make the first move and he knew that.

"You don't have to do that, Bam. Jackson doesn't deserve your forgiveness right now," Jinyoung said, resting his head against the headrest. It seemed like everyone was becoming tired of Yugyeom and Bambam's break up, he was too, but it never needed to involve their friends. Mark and Jinyoung had both met ends with that, but Jackson was so stubborn and in the past it had been funny, but it hurt once that same stubbornness and hatred was pointed towards Bambam. 

"How could you say he doesn't deserve it, he's your boyfriend," Bambam replied, hoping that Jinyoung didn't do anything stupid, like breaking up with Jackson over his and Yugyeom's issues. 

Jinyoung closed his eyes before letting out a deep breath. Bambam noticed that his fists were clenched and his knuckles were beginning to turn white. He furrowed his eyebrows, Jackson and Jinyoung never really fought in front of them, they were both responsible enough to keep it between the two of them, but it was different now.

Suddenly Jinyoung opened his eyes, they were wet with unshed tears, he looked towards Bambam, "He doesn't deserve anyone's forgiveness right now. He was saying all this shit about you to Yugyeom and I wanted to be on good terms with you. So I told him to stop, you didn't deserve that, you don't deserve any of this, Bambam." 

Bambam looked down at his lap, slowly closing his eyes and sighing, but nonetheless Jinyoung continued, "He said that I could go run to you and be in a relationship with you if I loved you so much. He said that he didn't need me. I had never seen him that angry, I thought-" He stopped. 

"What?" Bambam asked, heart rate speeding up. Something was definitely wrong. 

"I thought he was going to hit me," Jinyoung quietly said, finally allowing the tears to be shed. Bambam's head snapped up at the words and suddenly he felt his blood boil. 

What the fuck was Jackson Wang's problem? Bambam could handle taking the aggressive words and offensive things Jackson had to say about him, but he drew a line at his friends, he drew a line at Jinyoung, someone who has always been a little more sensitive than the rest of them. 

Jinyoung was still silently crying in the passenger seat, causing Bambam to abruptly get out of his car and making his way to the other door. He opened it and pulled Jinyoung up in a hug, murmuring soothing words into his ear. 

The roles had been reversed, he realized. Instead of Bambam getting put down for messing up in the relationship, it was going to be Jackson and he would make sure of that.

"Do you want to come to my dorm? You can stay the night, I don't want you going back to Jackson only to get hurt again," Bambam said, comfortingly rubbing his hand up and down Jinyoung's back. He felt a nod against his chest and gave Jinyoung a little longer before pulling away. 

They both got back into the car and Bambam drove the whole way back to his dorm with his hands tightly clenching on to the wheel. He never thought he would say it or even think it, but at the moment he hated Jackson. 

It was one thing to mess with Bambam, but it was a whole other thing to mess with his relationship and his friends. 

"I'm sorry for ignoring you when you tried to make things right the first time," Bambam suddenly said. He had been meaning to talk to Jinyoung face to face, but never had the courage to take on the risk of seeing Yugyeom. 

"You didn't ignore me. I deserved it anyways, I should've never let myself fall in with Jackson's toxic behavior," He responded, wiping away his tears with his finger. 

Bambam didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything and instead focused on the road. The past six months had been horrible for him, he lost Yugyeom, Jackson, and Jinyoung all at once, but after each storm there's a rainbow and he was grateful that the sun was beginning to shine through. Things with Jinyoung were normal, he knew that him and Yugyeom were both mature enough to figure something out, he just didn't know when, but he wasn't sure about Jackson and if he had to cut a friend off, so be it. 

He had made no effort to even try and talk to Bambam, he didn't seem remorseful and now he was taking it out on Jinyoung, who didn't deserve any of this. 

Bambam made the decision quickly, changing the direction of the car. He saw Jinyoung abruptly sit up from the corner of his eye. 

"Where are we going?" 

He didn't want to lie, but, "Mark's. I think he'll be able to help you get comfortable." Technically it wasn't a lie because Jinyoung was going to Mark's house, but Bambam would make something up to get away and then he would pay Jackson a visit.

"Mark and I-" 

Shit. Bambam completely forgot that the two hadn't talked ever since the breakup, he forgot that Jinyoung had basically ignored Mark for six months.

"Well you'll solve things, right?" He asked, humming to himself. Jinyoung shook his head and tried to protest, but Bambam wasn't turning around. 

"Bambam, no. Not right now I can't face him like this," Jinyoung said, gently tugging on Bambam's arm. He ignored Jinyoung though, because he needed to go alone. After a bit of protest Jinyoung finally gave up and sighed, hitting his head against the headrest. 

When they stopped at a red light, Bambam made quick work of texting Mark the situation, who was quick to reply. He understood why Bambam needed for Jinyoung to be somewhere else when he would go after Jackson, so he agreed to being civil. The car ride was silent save for Jinyoung's quiet sniffs and the faint radio. 

After getting there Bambam and Jinyoung made their way up to Mark's apartment. He knocked on the door and wrapped his arm around Jinyoung's shoulders, hoping to at least give him a little bit of reassurance. As soon as Mark opened the door, Bambam ushered Jinyoung in, getting him to the couch. 

He sat down for a while and they talked about nothing, Mark and Jinyoung sat in awkward silence as Bambam carried the conversation between the two, but after a couple of minutes he groaned out. 

"I'm hungry, I'm gonna head to the convenience store and pick up some ramen," He said, not giving Jinyoung a chance to reply before he was out of the door. 

Bambam felt his blood begin to boil again as he got back into the car, making a speedy drive to Jackson and Jinyoung's shared apartment. He didn't want to make Jinyoung feel bad or put him in the middle of anything, which is why he left him with Mark, but Jackson needed a reality check, and Bambam would give it to him. 

The drive was quiet, he was too frustrated to listen to any music so he turned it off. His biggest fear was seeing Yugyeom there, which he didn't really care if he did, but he didn't want his own potential lover to be scared at him or anymore mad than he already was. 

Bambam didn't normally resort to violence or confrontation, but Jackson had been asking for it. He loved to talk shit about everyone else, even his boyfriend. Bambam felt bad for Jinyoung, they weren't like him and Yugyeom. 

With them two everyone always knew that they'd end up together, whether it'd be platonically or romantically, but when Jackson and Jinyoung told the rest of the group that they were dating, everyone was shocked by it. It seemed like nobody saw it coming, although they were cute nonetheless. 

Bambam quickly got out of the car as soon as it was in park. He grabbed his phone and stuffed it in his back pocket, turning it on silent. There could be no interruptions. He didn't care how out of character it was for him, he'd give Jackson what he deserved. 

He stalked up to their apartment, knocking on the door like a maniac as soon as he was in front of it. His face paled once he heard Yugyeom's voice from behind the door, "Hold on hyungs, Jackson is like butt naked!" 

Hyungs? They invited Jaebeom and Youngjae over then? He didn't know and he didn't care so he impatiently began pounding on the door again. 

"I'm not butt naked!" Jackson retorted, causing both of them to begin laughing. Bambam felt his chest swell with possessiveness. Yugyeom seemed like he was having a great time with Jackson, the same Jackson who had caused six months of hell for him. Whatever, that wasn't what he needed to be worried about at the moment. 

After another minute or so, the door swung open and for the first time in a month, Yugyeom and Bambam were standing face to face again. He saw the other's expression immediately change, his smile turned into a frown and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Bambam didn't want to get caught up in feelings, so without saying anything he shoved his way past Yugyeom and towards Jackson. 

"Bambam-" Jackson started, standing up from the couch, but he didn't get a chance to finish because Bambam was already swinging his fist. 

He heard Yugyeom's gasp from across the room. 

"So we scare our boyfriends by making them think we're gonna hit them?! Is that it now?" He said, grabbing Jackson by his collar and lifting him back up. The punch was pretty hard, seeing as his nose was bleeding. 

Jackson grabbed onto Bambam's shoulders and tried to push him off, but he wouldn't budge, "I wasn't going to fucking hit him!" He yelled, trying to get out of his grasp. 

"If Yugyeom wasn't there, you would've, right? Does it make you feel good that Jinyoung is fucking scared of you, huh?!" Bambam responded, cursing when his grip on Jackson had slipped and he had gotten punched in the face. His adrenaline was running wild, causing him to not feel so much pain but more fire. 

Before Yugyeom had the chance to interfere, Bambam shoved him against the wall, making Jackson groan out in pain once his head hit it. He showed no mercy had he punched him again and it seemed as if Bambam had finally had enough. 

"You make fun of me, fine. Talk shit about me, fine!" He began, slamming Jackson into the wall again and causing him to let out another groan, "But you cross the line when you bring one of my friends into it. Whether it be Youngjae, Jaebeom, Mark, Jinyoung, and especially Yugyeom, I don't fucking care, but you keep their names out of your mouth, Jackson! Do you understand?!" Bambam all but yelled, allowing the rage to fully take over. He felt Yugyeom try to pull him away, but he shook him off. 

All Bambam could see was red. 

When Jackson didn't reply Bambam punched him again, this time hitting his eye, "I said, do you fucking understand?!" 

He didn't hear the door open and two loud voices yelling at him to stop, and he definitely didn't feel Jaebeom pull him away until it was actually done, until Jackson had fallen to the floor in agony. He was clearly in pain as he held his bleeding nose, Youngjae had run out of the bathroom with some tissues in his hands. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jaebeom angrily asked, shoving Bambam down onto the couch. He didn't respond, fists clenched by his side. He was so angry. Jackson had absolutely no right to be acting the way he was.

The door opened again, causing everyone to turn towards it, everyone except Jackson considering he was still on the floor trying to nurse his wounds. Bambam sighed as Mark and Jinyoung walked through, he looked at his best friend who had a look of apology on his face. Bambam didn't need the whole group to be there, but it was too late. 

"He basically forced me to bring him, he knew where you were going because I accidentally left my phone open to our messages," Mark apologetically said, closing the door softly behind himself, seemingly not grasping the situation entirely. 

"Jackson!" Jinyoung cried out, running over to him and placing his boyfriend's head in his lap. He began crying as he looked up at Bambam, "What the hell did you do?!" 

He clenched his teeth, how could Jinyoung feel remorse for Jackson right now? Yugyeom, who was still standing in shock, finally walked over to Bambam, he didn't look as mad as the rest of them did. It made him feel better that at least Mark and Yugyeom didn't seem to be upset with him. 

"Jaebeom, yelling at him isn't making it better, let me talk to him. I can calm him down," He calmly said, pulling Bambam up by his arm. Yugyeom shook his head when blood from Bambam's split knuckles got on his hand, but he nonetheless led Bambam to the guest room and closed the door behind them. 

As soon as the door was closed the others began yelling again, making Bambam look towards the ground. He didn't regret what he did to Jackson, did that make him a bad person? 

"I was scared that Jackson was going to hit Jinyoung too, but I stayed because he didn't," Yugyeom spoke up, letting go of Bambam, who sat down on the bed and held his bleeding hand in his other one. 

He didn't reply though. 

"Your knuckles, they're bleeding. And there's a cut on your cheek," He quietly said after he didn't get an answer the first time, but Bambam still stayed silent. Yugyeom was the last person he wanted to be talking to, because that would just open a whole other door of feelings and emotions that he didn't want to deal with right now. 

"Jackson keeps a first aid kit in the bathrooms-" He started. 

"So you know where Jackson keeps his things now?" Bambam spoke up, cursing at himself for letting his jealousy bleed through. 

"You know it's not like that, Bambam," Yugyeom said, walking towards the bathroom, and yeah, Bambam did know that it wasn't like that between them. He just was jealous and angry, and Yugyeom being nice to him wasn't making it better. 

He walked back out with the first aid kit in his hands, already taking out the bandaids and rubbing alcohol. Yugyeom came closer to Bambam and sat down next to him. He took a small wipe that had the alcohol on it and brought it to his knuckles, cleaning the open cuts. 

Time slowly passed as they sat in silence, the only sound being Bambam's heavy breathing. Once everything his knuckles were gauzed and the cut on his cheek had been bandaged, Yugyeom put everything away. Once he came back he gently grabbed the injured hand and brought it up to his lips, placing a kiss on it. 

"You're doing it again," Bambam quietly said, his breathing was finally going back to normal and he wasn't as angry as he had been before. Yugyeom could still calm him down and he knew that, but he didn't want to accept the reality that he needed him.

"Doing what?" Yugyeom asked, furrowing his eyebrows and letting Bambam's hand go. 

"Acting like things between us are okay, when they're not," He responded, moving away from Yugyeom on the bed Bambam didn't like ignoring reality, he didn't like letting things get swept under the rug but Yugyeom always forgave and forgot with a problem, but he wasn't like that at all. 

"Just because we're broken up for now doesn't mean-" 

Bambam stopped him, for now? 

"We've been broken up for seven— almost eight months, Yugyeom. You can't just ignore me for a month and then have things go back to normal, I don't deserve your forgiveness for what I did," He said, looking Yugyeom in the eyes. 

"I want to forgive you, Bam. I want to be able to love you again—" 

"It's not that simple!" Bambam all but yelled, standing up from the bed and heading towards the door, "You can't be mad at me for one minute and then love me the next. This isn't a movie, this is real life. Time drifts people apart-" 

"Do you think we drifted apart, do you not want a relationship with me?" Yugyeom quietly said, cutting Bambam's sentence off. He didn't like the edge of sadness on Yugyeom's voice, he didn't like the look of despair and hurt in his eyes. 

Of course he wanted a relationship with Yugyeom, that's all he ever has wanted, but it shouldn't be that simple, if they let their problems linger in the air, then they'd only come back to bite them in the ass. 

"I want a relationship with you, Gyeom. I love you, of course, but I'm scared. I'm so sorry that I didn't trust you before and that I did it again with Rose. You can be friends with whoever you want but I get so jealous. You're an amazing person and I—" Bambam stopped, thinking over his words carefully. 

"I'm a boy and she's a girl. She's gorgeous, Yugyeom and she obviously likes you. She could give you everything you've ever wanted. She could give you things I couldn't, like a family and kids," He quietly said, suddenly feeling extremely insecure. Yugyeom could do so much better than him, he could have anyone he ever wanted, so why would he settle down for someone who clearly had trust issues? 

Yugyeom sighed, walking closer to Bambam and grabbing him by his waist, "You could give me all of that too, Bammie. Adoption is always an option, you know that. We could even get a surrogate if we wanted to, but it's too early to be thinking about that. We're still young and in college. Besides, you're way more gorgeous than her, and you obviously love me, that's even better than a stupid crush," He said, smiling lightly. His hand moved up to the small of Bambam's back and he pushed him closer. 

"I'd choose you over and over again. I'd never fight for this relationship if I wasn't certain that you were the one," Yugyeom quietly said, bringing him in for a kiss, but instead Bambam brought his head down to Yugyeom's neck. 

Yugyeom's eyebrows furrowed as he felt it get damp with— were those tears? Was Bambam crying? 

"Thank you so much, Yugyeom. I love you," Bambam said, wrapping his hands around Yugyeom's body and bringing him in for a closer hug. He was crying into Yugyeom's neck, but he knew that he didn't mind. 

Yugyeom smiled and placed a kiss on Bambam's head, "Everything is gonna be okay." 

After another minute or so of them hugging, the two pulled away. Bambam's eyes were bloodshot red and tears were flowing down his cheeks, but he didn't care, not when he had Yugyeom to wipe them away for him. They sat on the bed, completely surrounded just by each other's scents. Yugyeom's arm was wrapped around Bambam's waist as they turned their heads to face each other. 

The two allowed their lips to meet, the kiss was passionate and love filled, making Bambam sigh in relief. Yugyeom was his and Yugyeom loved him, he had nothing to worry about. 

"You know, it was kind of hot how you went all protective mode on us. I've never seen you like that before," Yugyeom said once they pulled away. He didn't look mad, more seductive and playful as he wiggled his eyebrows. 

Bambam quietly laughed and shoved his chest, "Shut up, I probably shouldn't have done that. Jinyoung is mad at me again," He said, but he still didn't feel regretful, Jackson got what he deserved. 

"Did you really think that Jackson was going to hit him, though?" Bambam asked, shaking his head. He didn't like that he even had to think about Jackson being abusive towards Jinyoung and he hoped that it wasn't true. 

"If I'm being honest, Jackson raised his hand like he was going to do something, and when Jinyoung flinched it seemed like he stopped himself. That's why I didn't stop you when you barged in, because Jackson deserved it. Jinyoung did the right thing, by the way. I shouldn't have ever let Jackson talk bad about you," Yugyeom said, suddenly apologetic. 

Bambam forgot that that was what started everything, Jackson talking badly on his name, but he wasn't even upset at Yugyeom for that. He knew that Yugyeom always respected his hyungs and often didn't speak up when he thought things were wrong, he was a people pleaser. 

"It's okay, I forgive you," Bambam said, pecking his lips. 

After that they both mutually agreed that it was time for them to face reality. They couldn't hide in each other's embrace forever. As soon as Bambam stepped out, all eyes were on them. He could tell that they were questioning whether him and Yugyeom were finally, finally okay again, but that's not what drew his attention. 

Jackson had gotten up from where he was laying in Jinyoung's lap. His face was bandaged as well as his nose, and Bambam cringed at the black eye already beginning to form, but his eyes were watering. 

He moved closer to Bambam before he breathed out, closing his eyes and allowing the tears to take over. Jackson began crying as he pulled Bambam in for a hug, it was a shocker to everyone. 

Bambam hesitantly wrapped his arms around Jackson's body, shushing him as he continued to weep in the juncture of where Bambam's neck and shoulder met. 

And Yugyeom was right, Bambam realized, everything would be okay. 

———

The next morning Bambam woke up early. He quickly got dressed and grabbed everything he needed, quietly leaving his dorm. Once he was outside he basically ran to his car, body filled with excitement. 

He was going to get to see Yugyeom again. It was like when they first had started dating, he was always so excited to see him and his body was always filled to the brim with complete love and joy. 

However Yugyeom didn't know that Bambam was coming over because he was going to surprise his boyfriend with breakfast. He excitedly went over to their favorite cafe and ordered Yugyeom's favorite drink, an iced choco and then he got a dozen donuts. 

He wanted to get Yugyeom everything in the world, but for now he had to work with what his broke college kid budget would allow. Bambam happily walked over to his car and got in, humming along to a song that had been playing on the radio. 

He drove to Yugyeom's apartment, smiling to himself. He really hadn't been this happy since Mark got him a Burberry shirt for his birthday and he was even more happy now than he was then. 

Once he finally got to Yugyeom's apartment it was ten in the morning, and he knew that Yugyeom liked to sleep in, but he really hoped that he was awake. Bambam walked up to the apartment, sighing as memories flooded through. 

He didn't think it'd be a good idea for him to move back in, they should wait a little longer and he knew that. Living with Yugyeom was honestly so refreshing and he loved it, but when he moved to the dorm he had been lonely and cold. Going to sleep alone was a feeling he didn't want to be come familiar with and he hadn't because Mark was always there to warm his bed. It wasn't the same as having Yugyeom there next to him, but it had to do. 

Bambam shook his head and jumped out of his thoughts, bringing his fist up to the door and knocking on it. He was reminded of last night when he was outside of Jackson's apartment, almost in the same position except he was angry and blinded by rage. 

He didn't want to let what happened last night ruin his mood, because he had gotten Yugyeom back and that's all that mattered. Bambam knocked on the door again, this time louder, and after no response he rang the doorbell. 

Bambam heard some commotion coming from inside, he heard Yugyeom groan in pain along with the sound of something falling and he laughed at the cuteness, kind of feeling bad for waking him up. 

Yugyeom opened the door and his eyes widened when he saw that it was Bambam standing outside. His hair was in messy tufts and he didn't have anything on save for boxers. 

"Hey, what are you doing here at ten in the morning?" Yugyeom tiredly asked, voice still rough with sleep. He moved out of the doorway, essentially inviting Bambam in. 

"I brought you breakfast!" Bambam excitedly said, making Yugyeom smile. He placed a kiss on Bambam's lips and grabbed the things out of his hands. 

"Thanks baby, but you didn't have to. I promise that things between us are fine, no need for gifts or anything," Yugyeom said, placing the drink in the fridge and setting the donuts down on the table, "I want to cuddle with you." 

Bambam smiled and nodded, "I know, but I just miss you and wanted an excuse to come see you," He said, following Yugyeom into their once shared bedroom. He allowed Yugyeom to carefully undress him down to his boxers and then lay down with him in bed. 

They laid awkwardly at first, side by side and shoulders barely touching. Even though they had already gone past the innocent cuddle, it seemed to be the scariest thing in the world. Yugyeom huffed out as he turned to his side so that he was facing Bambam. 

"I said I wanted to cuddle, not lay side by side until one of us feels a little risky and decides to move a little closer," He teased, poking at Bambam's bare stomach. Bambam giggled and pushed Yugyeom's hand away, turning towards him and getting closer. 

Yugyeom wrapped his arms around Bambam's waist with a smile and placed a peck on his lips. Bambam's arms went around his midriff, his face was buried in Yugyeom's chest and hummed in contentment. 

"I love you, Yugie," Bambam said. 

"I love you too," He responded, bringing Bambam in for another kiss which became something more rather quickly. Yugyeom rolled over onto his back, bringing Bambam on top of him. Yugyeom placed his hands on Bambam's waist, moaning when the older boy tugged on his hair. 

Even though Bambam was on top, Yugyeom was still in control of the kiss, so he pried the former's mouth open with his tongue and felt his chest swell with pride when Bambam moaned at the feeling. 

The two made out for a while before their eyelids grew heavy and they fell asleep and it was the most relaxed that Bambam had felt in a long time. They slept in until twelve thirty, only awakened by the sound of a phone ringing. 

Bambam really hoped this wouldn't end the same way it did last time, well actually he would make sure that it wouldn't. He had to fight for Yugyeom, not against him. 

He heard the other man groan as he reached over Bambam, grabbing his phone that was sitting on the nightstand. He was able to read the contact name and it was Rose, but the emojis were gone. Bambam smiled to himself. 

"What is it Rose?" Yugyeom asked, rolling his eyes. Bambam quietly waited as they finished their conversation, he didn't want to eavesdrop, but he couldn't not because he was literally right next to the conversation. 

"What?!" Yugyeom yelled, getting up from the bed and slipping pants and a shirt on, encouraging Bambam to do the same. He hesitantly stood up and slipped back into his jeans, but before he could put his shirt back on, Yugyeom threw a hoodie to him. Bambam put that on instead, he wasn't much smaller than Yugyeom, but wearing the other man's clothes made him feel like it. 

Once Yugyeom hung up he hurriedly looked at Bambam, "Rose said she was on her way over to work and when she passed by she saw Jackson standing outside. She said he was standing by a black Altima and well, you're the only person I know that drives a black Altima," He said, reaching for Bambam's hand. 

Bambam felt his face pale. He was high on euphoria from being with Yugyeom, and he didn't want it to come crashing down so soon, but it seemed like that was what was happening. He didn't want to talk to Jackson. 

"Come on, we'll go out there together," Yugyeom said, pulling Bambam along with him. 

While they were in the elevator Bambam felt nervousness claw its way up to his throat, he didn't want to fight anymore. He got Yugyeom back, there was no real reason he and Jackson should still be mad at each other. Bambam knew that he could forgive Jackson, the same way Yugyeom forgave him and he forgave Jinyoung. 

Yugyeom seemed to notice his tense body, because he squeezed Bambam's hand and said, "I won't let him hurt you, never again." 

Bambam's heart swelled as he smiled at Yugyeom, "Thanks, Gyeom, but I think I have to handle this one on my own." 

And he would handle it on his own, without Mark's help and without Yugyeom's, even though he was nervous he had a feeling that Jackson wasn't going to insult him again. 

Once the elevator opened the two walked out together and into the parking lot, Jackson was still standing there except it looked like he was heading into the building. When he glanced up from his phone his face paled and he stopped, looking between Bambam and Yugyeom.

The three didn't really say anything, Yugyeom squeezed his hand again, but this time it didn't seem like it was out of comfort, it seemed more aggressive. The grip on Bambam's hand continued to get tighter and tighter before he yelped and pulled his hand away, gaining Jackson's eyes.

His cheeks turned red from embarrassment and he sighed, "Why are you here?" 

Yugyeom wrapped his arm around Bambam's waist and pulled him closer.

"I came to talk to Yugyeom, but I didn't know you would be here, well I didn't expect you to be here," Jackson said, he seemed like he was getting more nervous by the second. He pocketed his phone and began to fiddle with his fingers, Bambam hadn't seen him this nervous ever since he asked Jinyoung out.

"Okay, what did you need to tell him?" Bambam asked, furrowing his eyebrows once Jackson bit on his bottom lip. 

"I was hoping that he could help me figure out something to say to you," He quietly said. Tears began to collect in Jackson's eyes and Bambam noticed that Yugyeom was looking at him with complete sadness in his eyes. 

Bambam pushed Yugyeom towards Jackson, mouthing for him to go once Yugyeom turned around to look at him questioningly. He brought Jackson in for a hug as the man cried against Yugyeom's chest.

And really, Bambam knew that Jackson in no way deserved this, but he wasn't going to stoop that low and try to forbid Yugyeom from talking to anyone again. He wasn't going to stoop as low as Jackson had. He didn't want to get even, he just wanted an apology from Jackson. 

"Hey, Jackson?" Bambam suddenly said, frowning when he saw him quickly push Yugyeom away, "Why don't we go upstairs and talk."

Jackson seemed hesitant and Bambam knew it was because he thought that they wouldn't fix anything but just make it worse, but that wasn't Bambam's intention at all. He wanted to fix things, if not for himself then for Yugyeom. 

The feeling of betrayal that had settled in Bambam's chest eight months ago hadn't dissipated though, he was still hurt over the fact that Jackson had disregarded him so quickly. He made Bambam take the blame for causing the rift in their friend group when really, it was Jackson's fault. 

"Come on," Bambam said when no one else spoke up, he grabbed Yugyeom's hand and pulled him back into the building. He quickly glanced behind them and noticed that Jackson was following, he slowly nodded his head before pressing the button on the elevator.

The ride up was awkward, to say the least, but he didn't expect any less. Jackson was usually always bright and happy, he was the chatterbox of their friend group, so it was weird to see him looking sad and small. A thick cloud of anger had covered the rays that always shined so brightly, making Jackson into someone Bambam had hardly even recognized. 

He didn't ever think that him and Jackson would be fighting like this, of course they've had their fair share of petty arguments, but it's never gotten physical, yet Bambam didn't feel the wave of regret wash over him. 

The elevator made a sound to let them know they've arrived, it cut him out of his thoughts. He could already feel a big headache drilling it's way into his skull. Bambam sighed and walked out. 

When they were finally in Yugyeom's apartment, they sat down on the couches, Yugyeom and Bambam on one and Jackson on another. Tension dawned upon them like a heavy cloud, too thick to get rid of. 

Jackson cleared his throat, making the two look up at him, "So is this," He gestured towards them, "okay? Are you guys together?" 

As Yugyeom was about to speak up, Bambam beat him to it, "That's not what we're here for. Small talk isn't what we need right now." 

Jackson awkwardly looked down, "Well, I'm sorry, Bambam," He quietly said.

Bambam scoffed, this had to be one of the shittiest apologies he's ever heard. How hard is it to own up to your actions and just apologize like a normal person? Why was that so hard for Jackson? Was their friendship—their ten plus years of friendship not a good enough reason for him to apologize? Bambam felt the rage make its way down to his toes and back up. He was livid.

"If that's all then I guess I should go," Bambam said, shaking his head and standing up. He ignored Yugyeom's pleas for him to stay and the tugs on his sleeve. 

Jackson suddenly stood up, "What more do you want? I gave you your apology." 

The itty bitty thread that was composing Bambam finally snapped, it broke apart and with that, everything would tumble down. 

"What more do I want?!" He parroted, stalking closer to Jackson, "What don't you understand, Jackson? You broke me! You turned everyone— everyone against me! When I left Yugyeom I knew that it would be the heaviest weight I had to carry, but then you stopped talking to me unless it was to kick me out of Yugyeom's apartment—!" He cried out. 

"Wait, what?" Yugyeom asked, furrowing his eyebrows, but Bambam disregarded him.

"I lost Yugyeom, Jinyoung, and you all at once! I even lost Jaebeom and Youngjae for a little bit because you were feeding them lies about me! Mark was the only one truly there for me! I hated myself and you knew that, so you piled more shit into a box that was already full! Yugyeom might've shot me down, but you killed me. You ruined me with my greatest fears and I hate you for that," Bambam spat, snatching his arm out of Yugyeom's grip and grabbing his things. 

"Bambam," Yugyeom called. 

He didn't even realize the tears he had running down his face until Yugyeom was holding on to him again, wiping them away with the pads of his thumb. Yugyeom cradled his head against his chest as he cried, clinging on to him as if it was the only thing that could save him. 

Yugyeom was the only thing that could save him. 

"Baby, I'm so sorry," He whispered, placing kisses on top of Bambam's head. 

"I'm sorry," It wasn't Yugyeom, it was Jackson and Bambam rolled his eyes because he never had anything else to say except for sorry. 

"What I did back then was horrible, but-" 

"But nothing, we're done here," Bambam said, trying to leave Yugyeom's grip but the boy wasn't letting him go, "Yugyeom, let go." 

"If you guys don't talk about it now then you never will. If not for yourself do it for me," Yugyeom quietly said, holding on to his boyfriend tightly. 

Bambam wasn't hard to convince and even though he was beyond pissed off at Jackson, he knew that Yugyeom was right. He needed to sit down and listen instead of running away. If Jackson could make it up to him sincerely, then he'd forgive him, but Bambam wasn't going to sit around and listen to Jackson spew out complete and utter bullshit. 

"Don't tell me your sob story, tell me why you hate me and why you put me through seven and a half months of complete torture," Bambam said, sitting down on the couch with a huff. Yugyeom sat down next to him and began to rub his back soothingly. He was Bambam's greatest source of comfort. 

"I don't hate you," Jackson said, sitting down on the couch in front of them. He leaned over and ran his hands through his hair, "I don't think I could ever hate you, Bambam. We were always so close growing up and we basically knew each other for our whole lives, but when we met Yugyeom—" 

"You liked him more than me. You threw our bond away for someone you didn't even know. I get it, he's amazing," Bambam interrupted, scoffing and shaking his head. 

"That's not it! He's the youngest in our group so I felt the need to protect him. Plus, you began spending more time with Mark before Yugyeom even came into the picture. You left me first, hell you didn't even know that I've liked Jinyoung for years before I asked him out, yet you have the audacity to feel hurt when I find someone else just like you did?" 

Bambam stopped. He hadn't even realized. When they met Mark the two were instantly drawn to each other, automatically building a great relationship, but Bambam will admit that sometimes they might've left Jackson out. Of course there was still Jinyoung, Jaebeom and Youngjae, and Bambam knew what it felt like to be tossed to the side, yet he didn't realize that he had done it first.

"And I was such an asshole to you, I know I was, but I was so jealous, Bambam. I was jealous of Mark and when we met Yugyeom, I didn't have to be jealous anymore. Then you two started dating and I just felt alone-" 

"You should've said something!" Bambam intervened again, taking a breath when Yugyeom squeezed his hand.

Jackson nodded in agreement, "I should've. I wish I had, but when I saw you accuse Yugyeom of something he didn't do, it set a fire deep in my stomach. You didn't even give him a chance to explain and it reminded me of how easy it was for you to let go of me— of us. I used your break up as an excuse to be mad at you," He said, hands clutching the loose strings of his ripped jeans. 

Bambam slowly closed his eyes and leaned back against the couch, humming when he felt Yugyeom run a hand up his back. Clearly there was a lot more to what was going on in Jackson's head.

"I'm sorry that I made you feel like that, and to be honest after hearing what you had to say, I feel like I can forgive you sooner, because you need to forgive me too," Bambam said. He felt so stupid for reading this whole situation wrong. What Jackson did to him was non excusable, but he had clearly been so hurt by Bambam's actions. 

"No, Bam. I don't need to forgive you for anything because it's past that point now. What I've done to you is just—" Jackson stopped and thought over his words. His eyes grew wet with tears and he sighed and shook his head, mumbling as if he was ashamed, "I intended to hurt you, but you never intended to hurt me before it got physical, and for that I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I turned Jinyoung against you and that I bullied you to the point where you had to physically hurt me." 

Bambam felt the tears come back and begin to well in his eyes again, except this time he would let them fall. Jackson had already shown vulnerability by tearing up, so he knew that he'd be okay if he did the same. 

"I don't want to fight with you anymore, Jackson. I miss how things were before, but you need to prove to me that you aren't going to turn against me again, that we aren't going to fall out. And it was partially my fault so I'll be sure to split up some of my time between you and Mark. It's the least you deserve," Bambam said, standing up from the couch and moving over to Jackson. 

He pulled the other man into a hug and sighed in contentment once he felt Jackson's arms wrap around him. 

"I'll prove it to you and to Jinyoung. We're taking a break and I'm talking to someone about my anger management issues, I want to get better," Jackson said, tightening his hold around Bambam, "I wasn't ever going to hit him," He whispered, closing his eyes. 

Yugyeom watched as Bambam shushed him and whispered the same words he had once said. 

Everything is gonna be okay. 

———

Bambam hummed as he slipped in an earbud, mouthing the words to one of his favorite songs. There was sweat running down the side of his face, he was still a little breathless and he had a tight grip on the water bottle next to him. His team, which consisted of Jackson, Jaebeom and himself, had completely blown out Yugyeom's team (read: won by one point). He was proud of himself, trying hard not to let the smirk show through. Yugyeom was the best soccer player in their friend group, so it was a big deal that Bambam beat him. 

He didn't like to be cocky about his wins, but this was big. They did boyfriends against boyfriends, meaning the other team was Yugyeom, Jinyoung, and Youngjae. Him and Jaebeom had announced their relationship about a week after Jackson and Bambam made up. 

Jinyoung and Jackson had taken some time to get back on track, but now things were better than ever. They were all happy. Mark had been the referee for the game, swearing that he wasn't being biased towards Bambam's team. 

They were soaking up the last hours of their summer break, their first day of school was tomorrow. It was the beginning of the end, Bambam thought with a smile, after they graduated university they would all go on to do different things and essentially make lives for themselves. 

It was crazy how far he'd gone with Yugyeom, their relationship was stronger than ever after being able to overcome the biggest curve ball life could throw at them. 

He heard the sound of grass crunching beneath cleats and looked up, completely sure that it was Yugyeom, and he was correct. Bambam brought the water bottle up to his lips and chuckled when his boyfriend plopped down next to him with a pout on his face. 

"It was an unfair game," Yugyeom started. 

Bambam shook his head, rolling his eyes and grabbing Yugyeom's hand, "It was completely fair. You're the best player so I got the second best, Jaebeom and then you choose Jinyoung and left me with Jackson, it was fair, Yugie," Bambam laughed, placing a kiss on his cheek. 

"Get away from me you traitor, you should've been on my team but no, you wanted to be the captain soooo bad," He said.

Bambam smiled, he missed Yugyeom so much. He was so happy, so happy that their friend group was okay, that his relationship was okay. 

"What are you all smiley about?" Yugyeom asked, completely disregarding the fact that he had just told Bambam to get away from him. He wrapped his arm around Bambam's waist and pulled the boy into his lap. 

"I'm just relieved, happy and in love," Bambam said, pulling Yugyeom's head against his and pulling him in for a kiss. 

"I love your smile." A kiss on Yugyeom's cheek. "I love your eyes." A kiss on his other one. "I love your nose," A kiss on his nose. "And I love you." A kiss on his lips. Bambam smiled as he pulled back, running his hands through Yugyeom's hair, but he frowned once he noticed that his eyes were wet with tears. 

"Gyeom? What's wrong?" He asked, fear  
settling deep within him. Had he said something wrong? 

"I just love you so much, Bammie. Thank you for being here with me," He said, sharing another kiss with him. 

They heard a groan from behind them and turned around, it was Mark. 

"First Jackson and Jinyoung almost have sex on the field— no! They should've since they were eye fucking each other so openly, and then Youngjae and Jaebeom were getting into an argument which I'm sure is some kind of foreplay for a future sex scene, and now you two are being mushy, I need new friends," He whined, stomping away back towards the others. 

Bambam and Yugyeom looked at each other before laughing. The two stood up and started heading towards the field. Bambam felt content with life and smiled. 

He was okay and with Yugyeom by his side, he’d always be okay. 

———

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!


End file.
